Welcome to all new students and the returning students as well. This year has been unusual as a lot of classes are now being done online including orientation for new students, but the good news is that 2020 is fast going away and we hope things continue to improve. For those following the TaggedforUppsala Instagram page, a lot of interesting things happened in the welcome week and continues to. As part of the second year, some students have the option of doing an internship related to their program of study or taking a course. Whatever the choice you make, it must measure up to the required credits for the semester which is usually 30 credits. Some students opt to do a course of 15 credits with an internship of 15 credits or some like myself do a 30 credits internship. The important thing is that you are learning.
Finding an internship placement
Getting a place to do your internship is the same as looking for a job because you must write and submit many applications tailored to each company or organization you want the experience. You will need to plenty of determination because there will be rejections especially as a non-Swedish speaker, you have to look even wider, keeping your options open as language makes the core framework of the Swedish society. One thing I must add at this point is that getting a place is solely your responsibility and so you should aim to start early.
Relevancy
When you are considering where to do your internship, make sure it is relevant to your field of study and aim to get the experience which will be valuable during your thesis in the spring (coming) semester. If a place is not relevant, you may not get the approval from your department for it to be registered as a course. (You do not want to be disappointed after putting in so much effort to get a place). As much as getting a place equates with finding a real job, most positions are not paid, and your goal should be the experience which can become a bridge to a full-time job after studies or a doctoral position after your master’s degree. Depending on your goal, whether you want to continue your studies with a PhD or work, you will find places to match. Many organizations in Sweden accept interns and your department can also help you with the list of places you can apply even though the responsibility rests solely on you, the student to secure a place.
A future in academia
For a future PhD position, your goal should be more of research experience at organizations or projects where you can update your research skills, meet researchers in your selected field whom you can learn from. You have to reach out to many researchers based on how much their interest matches your career goals, work and background. You can find their contacts on the organization’s website where you can get relevant information about internship processes and priorities.
A future outside academia
If your goal is getting a job outside the academia, then your experience should be more focused on how the environment and systems where you want to intern work; this will give you an insight into the culture and how to secure a permanent position suited to your career goal (and possibly improve your Swedish, if you are not a native speaker).
Internships abroad
There are options of doing your internship anywhere in the world, as students can even go back to your countries of origin, but that is subject to approval by your department and it is good you make enquiries to know what your options are and work towards it.
Start searching early
It is very important that you start your search early for a place because like finding a job as I earlier said, it is very competitive, also apply for courses as a backup plan. This gives you more options of securing the required credits for the semester should in case you cannot get a place when the deadline passes, and you are at risk of applying late, sometimes you may not even find late applications for courses after deadlines. It is better you consider applying for courses within the open period along with your search for an internship (as I did in my case) then you can choose not to register for the courses when you get a place for internship and you are admitted for the courses. It is always good to be realistic about the situation and stick with the rules of the program you are studying.
Ultimately, your goal should be to enjoy the process and the environment of learning here at Uppsala and avoid being overwhelmed with deadlines. Look out for new departmental and university information (you do not want to miss out on vital student information), always ask questions when you need help.
A new semester approaches, you already received your acceptance letter and while you are preparing the last (big) details before moving to Uppsala, you might be wondering which Student Nation you should choose and why you should even bother going, why they are so special, so let me share with you some tips and information about them.
Here is hoping Corona (SARS-COV-2) does not ruin anyone’s’ Fall plans though.
Nations are the heart of Student Life in Uppsala, you can do anything there, and I really mean anything. From studying to partying, from sports to eating and much much more!
Now, even though there is no secret formula on how to best choose your Nation, there are some things you can do to figure it out. If you want the fast or a tiny help, you can go to this blog post that has a very nice flow diagram about the Nations.
If you want to know as much of every Nation as possible before choosing, you can start by going to the Welcoming activities that Nations host during the International Welcome Week and go talk to the people organizing, I promise they will be friendly and happy to tell you about their Nation if you ask them. The second thing you can do is talk to the ones that are representing their Nation in the Welcome Fair, there especially they will be “selling” their own and answer every single question you may have. But more than only asking questions, use this time to just talk with them and see how you feel, talking with whom do you feel more comfortable?
Then it also depends on what you are looking for in the Nations, do you want to have more housing options, more available scholarships, party for free a specific day, fika discount, artistic activities, a small and close community? Of course, you can always look for all this their websites, but it is likely to be in Swedish and everything might not be there, so the best way to find out is by talking with the active members. You will find them in their respective Nation and in the Welcome Fair, it will be crowded, but don’t worry about it and talk with everyone for as long as you want.
What can you do in each Nation? That is for you to find out, but all of them have a Pub, with good burgers, beers and more. I have 3 favorite ones, but you should go try them all before picking (#Hint: Some use homemade patties and some don’t). Can you find the one Nation that serves mashed potatoes instead of fries with their burger? Every Nation opens their pub on different days, but you can always find at least one, even Sundays.
If you like partying, you came to the right place, Nations have agreements within them, so the week starts on Tuesday with Snerikes party, on Wednesday it is Norrlands turn, Thursdays it is Stockholms and Fridays are for Värmlands. On Fridays, you can also find Ostgöta or Snerikes sometimes. You can always enter all the parties for free before 9 pm and if you are a member of a specific one, you enter for free to their party all night.
If you are a food lover, apart from the pubs, some Nations have breakfast like Norrlands and Stockholm, or lunch like Stockholm with their salad bar or like Norrlands, Östgöta, and Västgöta. You can find delicious Fika in Kalmar, Göteborgs, Norrlands, and more. On Saturdays, Gästrike-Hälsinge Nation hosts a Pancake bar at brunch time, and on Sundays Snerikes has brunch.
If you like singing Göteborgs has Karaoke Thursday.
If you like sports you will find different sports groups in Gästrike-Hälsinge.
If you want to learn Latin dances, Värmlands has Salsa and Bachata classes on Sundays.
And if you like role-playing games, V-Dala has many D&D campaigns every Sunday; while in Gästrike-Hälsinge you will find Boardgames evenings.
Most Nations also have libraries, choirs, spex (theater groups), special lectures, Gasques, Balls, and most important: Very nice and friendly people.
Now one last tip, once you’ve decided on your Nation, a great way to start meeting the members is going to the Cleaning Day. Yes! I did say cleaning. They happen once a month on every Nation, there, Full-Timers and Half-Timers gather to clean the house along with everyone else willing to help. The day begins with a breakfast, then tasks are distributed, and teams go clean until it is lunchtime, when everyone stops what they are doing and have lunch together and sometimes play games before going back to your duties. When everything is done, it is time for the Sexa! (A nice dinner but not elegant like a Gasque or Ball) You celebrate a successful cleaning day, eat good food, have some drinks, sing many typical Swedish songs and have lots of fun with your new Nation friends 😉
And remember, at the end of the day, it does not matter which Nation you join because joining one gives you access to all of them, Amazing! And worst-case scenario, you can always change it whenever you want, or better: You can join more than one!
2020 has not been the best year, from Australian bush fires, trade wars and then coronavirus pandemic. What started like just another outbreak became bigger than what anyone would have imagined. It was not just another flu, another hoax, it remains a global challenge affecting our lives and every sector of the economy. Who ever imagined facemasks, hand sanitizers, tissue paper, food, hand washing, not touching our faces and not shaking hands or hugging each other would become such a big deal? No, this is not a drill, it is reality…… We are live in 2020.
Melker Dahlstrand/imagebank.sweden.se
The pandemic meant borders, schools, offices, places of worship, tourist sites would remain closed and everything would move online; work, academics, businesses, conferences, governance, relationships would all online for this long. People remain stranded in different places across the world and then it is scary because the virus spreads in such a way that some people who are carriers may not even become sick and they can spread it without knowing. Hence, we must stay indoors and contain the spread to flatten the curve.
It was always a luxury and envious to be working from home but now it has become harder having everyone at home (especially people with family members) and then trying to keep up with schedules. You are no longer voluntarily working or studying from home the way you have always imagined; it can be emotionally and physically overwhelming. This also meant as a student, my classes would move online, all my courses. Thankfully, I was done with most of this semester courses and I had just one left but even then, I must say spending so much time online is challenging. Online education is harder than you imagined.
Before I had classes at either SLU Ultuna (the Swedish University of Agriculture on the other side of town) or the Uppsala University’s Geocentrum, group work was done physically and then some bits online. As someone who prefers reading hard copies of documents, books because of the stress reading online was an unhealthy choice for my eyes, it gets even challenging. I must be online for the class as slides will be insufficient for understanding sometimes because there will be things said, questions asked that will be helpful, read course recommended articles online, do group work online, I even have my weekly fellowship with Mosaic church now online…… it is an online challenge. I miss my classmates, every one of them even those at the “hey!” level (because I can’t be close to everyone in a class of over 50 students). We only see ourselves when it is ZOOM time.
Also, Netflix is online (because sometimes, you gotta’ chill with Netflix)
Susanne Walström/imagebank.sweden.se
The good thing is that Uppsala University and SLU study schedules are flexible enough to save you from being an online zombie and I have managed it well. There are so many resources online for academics and updates on coronavirus. My lecturers have been of tremendous assistance and reply inquiries so fast. My department, course counselors and even university management have been open about asking for help when you need one. Also, as a scholarship recipient from the Swedish Institute, they look out for their international students, which means you are not alone.
There is no lockdown here in Sweden, so I can go out for some fresh air while taking a walk. Sweden is a country that naturally practices social distancing because it is a culture of people who love their personal space and avoid conflict. You will understand after living in Sweden for some time, that it is nothing personal and nothing sinister or mean (LOL), it is what it is. I don’t even have to try that hard to social distance myself. (Thank You Sweden!)
Susanne Walström/imagebank.sweden.se
Being online always is a challenge these days and I know I am not alone. It can be emotionally draining with all the propaganda, conspiracy theories and fake news on major social media platforms but you have the power to switch things on and off when they are not essential to your goal and daily schedule. You can also focus on the positives of being online, follow genuine leads and draw on things that boost your positive energy. As a student of Sustainable Development, I have discovered a lot of good webinars on topics like Degrowth, Political Ecology, Green Energy, Climate Education and other sustainability inclined discourse, articles that has been educative. There are also free and subsidized courses online you can enroll to learn things you have always wanted. Use your data wisely and make the most of the situation.
Coronavirus is not a hoax; it is something serious that has left us all reflecting on life. Being indoors and spending more time online as a student is a challenge but I make the most of my experience and focus on what counts.
Keep washing your hands and take your hygiene seriously. Always remember to stay home if it is not essential to be out there and yes, keep your distance (it is that serious, LOL!). This also means I am always eating since I go out only when it is essential. My next trip to fridge comes after I finish writing this.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Football leagues, NBA, NFL, everything, every place we used to scream and hang out……even the famous Valborg celebrations in Sweden was suspended. We miss life as we have always known but Life is precious and that is all that counts now.
“Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team’s goal.”
This has to be the most cliched way to start a post. Unfortunately, considering how I and many others who might be reading this post are not familiar with this word, I felt it was worth a shot. So, what is bandy? Well, it’s basically like ice hockey. And if you come from a place where ice hockey isn’t all that popular (Like India, for example), imagine field hockey but on an ice rink instead of a field and all the players wear ice skates. Oh and also, there’s a ball that you play with, in Bandy instead of a puck, like in ice hockey. To be honest, I can’t explain the game in-depth since I am not familiar with it all that much. Or am I? Well, that is what I’m here to talk about. Up until a couple of days ago, I had no idea what the word ‘Bandy’ meant. That was until I got to know about the crash course in Bandy that was jointly organized by Uppsala University and Sirius Bandy, Uppsala’s bandy team. If you’re like me and have no experience in skating or in playing hockey, the combination of skating on ice while playing hockey must seem quite horrifying.
However, I wholeheartedly suggest you give it a shot. When I heard of this crash course, I had similar reservations. “I don’t know how to skate, let alone ice-skate!”; “I’ve never played hockey before!”; “How can you teach someone to ice-skate within a month?!?” etc. But honestly, it was fun!
So this is how it works, the crash course is divided into the following components:- 4 one-hour lessons and a final match. The lessons, as well as the match, takes place on weekends so everybody can attend. On the first day, you are given a hockey stick, a pair of skates and a helmet. Remember to take a picture since you’ll be using the same equipment for the whole course. At least that’s the way it is recommended. You can always change it if it doesn’t suit you.
Day 1: You’re divided into two groups; the ones who have some experience in skating and the ones who won’t. If it’s not evident by now, I belonged to the latter group. The first day is all about posture and balancing. I advise anybody who is planning to take up this course to listen to the instructors very carefully, even if your instincts tell you otherwise. For example, the instructors told us to lean forward with our knees bent. It was quite weird as keeping my legs straight and stiff was helping me balance more. But soon, I realized why the instructors were asking me to do otherwise. Ice is hard, keeping your legs straight puts a lot of burden on your knees and soon, my legs and knees started to hurt quite badly. Also, while maintaining balance when you stand can be easy, when you’re skating, it turned out to be easier to maintain balance with the knees bent. Once you get the hang of it, it is quite something. It’s almost like gliding through the air. It’s really fun. Also, it’s always better to fall forward instead of backward since it’s easier to control a forward fall. So another tip: When you feel like you’re falling, try to shift all your weight forward. You may end up controlling your fall in the worst-case scenario, and not falling at all in the best-case scenario!
Day 2: Now, you are given the choice if you’d like to practice skating more, or if you’d like to practice hitting the ball while skating. I wasn’t comfortable yet with maintaining my balance on ice so I opted to practice skating more. But you can do whatever you want depending on your comfort.
Day 3: By day 3, people are starting to get more comfortable on skates. So the instructors teach you certain exercises to help practice maintaining your balance. Like going into a squat position while skating and coming back up again.
Day 4: By this time, almost everyone is pretty comfortable with being on ice so it’s mostly just a fun day of skating and playing some bandy
Final Match: The moment of truth. Everybody’s divided into two teams and there’s a proper Bandy match between the two teams.
All in all, the whole experience was really fun! Also, it can sound a bit daunting but it was really fun. The players at Sirius bandy are awesome and it was really fun chatting with them about their experiences, how they got into bandy etc. They were also really helpful and gave really good tips on how to skate properly. Unfortunately, on the day of the final match, it was windy and wet, so skating was a bit hard. But it was a fun sight, people falling on top of each other while trying to goal. If you get the opportunity, I highly suggest that you take it. They only admit limited students every year and its first-come, first-serve. The applications open around December and the course starts in January and lasts until the mid of February. It is completely free of charge!
You can find some pictures and videos of the course below.
In Nigeria, we refer to newcomers as “JJC” which means
Johnny Just Come. That was me in Uppsala last August when I first arrived after
2 years of consistently Uppsala dreaming. Let me quickly say Uppsala continues
to surprise me; it was everything I had imagined and more. Like life, a great
part of your experience here is what you make of it, your effort to seek the
things you want and the willingness to be open to adventure. You will get
frustrated at some “Swedish things” but instead focus on understanding the
people and the little things that matter to them is the magic in “surviving”
your Swedish adventure. Uppsala is beautiful!
I wanted to share how I ended up un Uppsala since this
is my first blog post for Tagged for Uppsala.
My name is Margaret Aligbe from Nigeria (You already
know that by now) and I am studying Masters in Sustainable Development. I had
always wanted to study in Scandinavia because from Nigeria, it was a less-traveled
route and it was somewhere up there with all the “laidback’’ lifestyle and love
for nature stories. I needed something different and needed some “green” and “chill”
in my life, after living in Lagos for so long (Have you been to Lagos? LOL). I wanted an escape period of learning, so I
made up my mind for a masters’ education. How I ended up in Sweden was partly
because Swedish people spoke very good English (you have probably heard this
before) as I confirmed for a former Tagged4Uppsala Blogger, Oluwafisayomi “Fifi”
Adesina and another Nigerian student at Linkoping, Mobolaji Folorunso. Becoming
a student at Uppsala University was the icing on my cake, there was nothing you
were going to tell me to change my mind when I made it my first choice and I
was determined to be here.
In Sweden, I discovered from my research before coming
here that the goal of learning is more about application than ‘’head knowledge”
which was fascinating to me. As a student, you focus more on understanding that
being worried about grades because in the real sense, when you understand what
is being taught, you have no cause to fail. The educational system at Uppsala
University reflects what the Swedish mantra “Lagom” meaning balance. Also, since I wanted to sustainable
development, Sweden a major player in the sustainability discourse had to be
the place to study; sustainability here is major, permit me to say, it is
sustainability on steroids, no one jokes here about it and yes, it is that
deep.
And yes, seriously, I came here because of Fika!
There are so many things about Uppsala to “gist’’
(Nigerian word for an informal chat or little talk) you about Uppsala and you
have read or heard a lot, but I will stick with the food Nigerian version and
the weather in another post.
The ‘’Naija’’ Cravings… (Naija is a shorter and savvier
way of saying Nigerian)
Food is central to our lives as Nigerians, in
families, parties, offices; food is something very “serious’’ not just to us as
Nigerians but to many cultures, I believe. This means, as an adult going abroad
to study, you are more likely to carry that “baggage” along even if you drop
everything else; your cravings stick with you on your journey. Children may
easily change their diets to what is available, but it is not that simple as an
adult, perhaps over time but since I just got here last August, it is fair to
want to eat Nigerian.
As a Naija girl in Uppsala, those cravings got more
serious. From wanting to eat local spicy or “pepperish” dishes like catfish
pepper soup; Semo and ogbono soup; Amala and ewedu with ponmo (cow skin); pounded
yam and egusi (melon) soup; moimoi; Beans or Ewa agonyi (similar to how lentils
are prepared) and Ijebu garri; yam and egg to wanting Nigerian Indomie Noodles …..I
had to fix my cravings because it was one of my best coping strategy away from
family. I eat a couple of Swedish food like meatballs (köttbullar), Cinnamon
bun (kanelbullar), semla; I cannot even count how much kilos of potatoes I have
eaten and I still drink so much coffee already but you see there is something
so strong about being a typical Naija foodie that it is such an old, die-hard
habit.
If you are a Nigerian or someone with the Naija
appetite reading this, be rest assured you will survive so well in this
beautiful city. You will be surprised by the food you will find here. There are
a couple of African and Asian stores spread around Uppsala where you can
find 95% of the food you crave for and
cooking ingredients like Maggi, Nigerian Knorr cubes, crayfish, dried catfish, ground
ogbono, egusi (melon), semo, poundo yam, raw yam, plantain (ripe and unripe), bitter
leaf, ugwu (pumpkin leaf), ugba, fufu, Iru, palm oil, the hot pepper we call “atarodo”
in Nigeria…the list goes on and on.
Below are some pictures of my Naija Foodie moments;
Buying these local foods can be expensive because price is based on weight, which would mean a small yam can be as high as 50 Swedish kronor (side-eye…lol) and then you begin to start calculating the price in your local currency (I know I am not the only one, who can’t help this behavior), in my case Naira or you start wondering why that pepper has to be so expensive but I eat I must.
Satisfaction with some frugality
As a student, being frugal is key to saving and one
way to achieve that is by cooking your own food. When you are buying a cup of
coffee every day for “just” 10 kronor, it eventually adds up and cripples your
budgeting skills. So, you want to eat well in a smart way! After buying that
monthly student bus ticket of 590 kronor (if you do not know how to ride a
bicycle like me) and you have paid your rent, food for the month is the next
major budget item.
When I go to
local supermarkets, I am always checking the dates on meat, milk, fish and vegetables.
You do not want to buy something you cannot finish before it expires, you want
to consume it while it is still fresh. Every time, food wastes, your money goes
(arrrghh…. the pain in Swedish krona), then you must throw so much away and
probably buy the same thing again. To avoid this cycle of waste, I spend more
on food I love to eat, this means, I buy less outside and eat more of home-cooked
meals.
When it comes to Nigerian food cravings, extreme frugality
fails but it is always worth it because I can basically live a whole month
without buying any extra food and I feel satisfied after every meal. I must add
that there will always be some fika here and there with free food. I try to eat some macaroni or spaghetti
instead of rice every time, this also saves me some money they are cheaper
options compared to rice and variety is the spice of life after all. To eat
Nigerian means you have to be very disciplined with your spending and as much
as it is good to cook meals weekly and storing them in the fridge for the week,
sometimes, having so much could amount to waste, as you may not want to eat the
same food continuously for a whole week; you have to be tactical in managing
your expensive ‘’Nigerian’’ food. You can also make soups like egusi, ogbono,
seafood okra or stew (our local tomatoes and pepper sauce), which can last you
for so long and you can eat it with different meals like yam, rice, spaghetti
or even bread. The trick is to find the perfect way to mix and match what works
for you; then you can prepare different types of rice and not get bored the
whole week.
After months in Uppsala, I started to reduce my
portions, I cannot explain why but it happened to me, which meant, my raw food
stayed longer and I did not have to go to the African store often like when I
first came, I guess it is one of the things that has changed with my cravings;
eating lesser portions but drinking so much water; carbonated drinks are so expensive
with sugar tax (what is that? Lol), I might as well cut down on my Coke and
Pepsi cravings (In Nigeria, you need Coke or Pepsi to step down your food lol).
Disclaimer; No, I don’t eat my cooked food every time. No matter how frugal I try
to be, I allow myself to eat out sometimes if I can afford it, Cooking can be
hard work sometimes. I cut myself some slacks on my budget. It is not always
that serious.
No Meat?
Meat is expensive. When I say meat, I mean beef and
chicken.
In Sweden, people eat less meat and it is something
serious even though I have argued in class about how eating meat is
unsustainable based on how the meat is produced (a story for another day).
While we have free-roaming animals in many parts of Africa meaning we buy our
meat fresh less processed; here, it is mostly packaged and likely traveled over
a long distance before reaching final consumers which could is not
environmentally friendly. Meat is
central to our meals in Nigeria and so wanting to make soups mean I have to buy
meat but the secret is; how you buy (Freshly slaughtered or already packaged
determines how the meat will taste like), where you buy and in what quantity
you buy is very important in saving cost. You can also include fish in your
diet like Mackerel (called “Titus” in Nigeria) and other types like Alaska
Pollock (Called “Eja Panla” in Nigeria) or Stockfish (called ‘’Okporoko”) in
Nigeria and salmon Fillets which tastes really good. Another way would be to
buy chicken parts like gizzard or parts like liver and kidney if eating meat is
a must.
The least of your worries…
This is more of a Nigerian foodie experience but from
my interaction with people around the here, everyone has a way of surviving on
their local dishes here and that means wherever you come from, there is always
an amazing experience with every meal here in Uppsala. A city that is so big
yet very warm you would love it when you are here. Food will be the last thing
to worry about. Everyone is welcome!
When I chose Uppsala University for my
master’s studies, “Why?” became the most general question asked by everyone
around me at the time. Why Sweden? Why Uppsala? Why not somewhere else? … With
all these questions I actually started questioning myself about what lead me to
take the decision. So here are the main answers I found out myself to my own questions
back then and later realized to be so true after getting here.
Hope someone out there struggling with finding out “why?” will be supported by these thoughts and experiences.
University Culture Being a Sri Lankan, something I will never be able to experience in my country, is a culture like as at Uppsala University. I could have chosen a well reputed ‘modern’ university but I would not have been able to experience the rich historical culture that runs back to 1477 in any of those universities. Uppsala city indeed is a student city. I have found everything here very interesting from student life, nations, interactive classrooms to building architecture and holidays and all. The nations are something I had almost no idea about when coming here but nations play the best and most important part in student life. The nations are historical as same as the university and my opinion is that the best and safest way a student can enjoy nightlife, make friends and have fun is through nation activities. Nation pubs are also the cheapest options for food and drinks for students. So if you really want to experience this unique, historical, truly amazing university life, I assure you that “Uppsala is the place!”
The Calmness Something a fellow Sri Lankan student told me during our first week here is that it is too calm and quiet here and she doesn’t like it. But honestly for me, it is exactly what I wanted! If you are from a noisy and busy city, you will find the complete opposite environment here in Uppsala. I haven’t still been much out in Sweden but I believe the rest of Sweden is also quite the same. Before planning my studies here I did a bit of research about bits and pieces of everything that I thought would help me prepare and there I read about the overall calmness in this country. I am the type of person who seeks peace of mind and from the moment I got here I have loved how calm and beautiful everything around me is. When I say calm and quiet, it doesn’t mean the city is a ghost town; of course the city is fun and active all the time, but the noise and irritating crowd and busy nature – it’s not there! So simply what I mean is, if you love calmness, this is the best but if you love noise, this is not the best.
Nature Back when planning, I have read about how green and sustainable Sweden is; in fact, more than 50% of the country is covered by forest. When I got here during the end of summer, I loved how beautiful everywhere I saw was. The place I got to live – Flogsta, is in the middle of a bit of a forest and I started feeling truly blessed about my new life -surrounded by trees, with a view of a farm from my window and waking up to the sound of a black and white bird tapping on my window (the bird is called Eurasian Magpie I believe). I have never been a person who likes walking or cycling, but after getting here, during the summer, I loved all my walks and cycle rides no matter how long or short they were because the surrounding was so beautiful. Of course the colour has changed from green to yellow and brown and white with the seasons passed, and I take the bus now as it is quite cold these days, but the nature has always been lovely and if you’re a nature friendly person, this place will be your paradise.
People From majority of the posts I have read about Sweden, the impression delivered out about Swedes is that Swedes are not friendly. I was never bothered by this as I don’t judge any people by what others say until I get to know them personally as they are. After getting here I realized that what I have read is completely untrue. Swedes are really nice and helpful. I have met people who smiles and greets as they walk down the street and also people who just walks as you or they are invisible. But that’s how people from any part of the world differ from each other. However every Swede I have met and talked so far has turned out to be amazing people and is fun to hang around with. I have met extremely nice Swedish people in the bus who talk to me about their day and want to know about how I’m finding it to live in Sweden. So my advice is, if you’re really bothered about Swedes from what you have read before meeting them, just don’t worry because Swedes are friendly and even though the Swedes are not friendly as assumed (incorrectly) you will meet plenty of other internationals and you will have no problems with people whatever the situation is.
Language I could have gone to an English speaking country for my studies just to make things easy but I thought of taking up a challenge instead. I thought of the opportunity to learn a new language because I knew that I will eventually learn at least a bit of Swedish during my time in Sweden. When got here, honestly there were times that I regretted this decision because I have got really stuck in situations due to lack of Swedish but still I have survived well and I am improving my language skills. So I don’t regret it anymore and I am so glad that I chose Sweden out of all other countries.
Living cost This may sound unbelievable but from my experience, I have found the living cost to be comparatively cheaper here in Sweden. This is a major concern everyone had back then in Sri Lanka, including me and my parents because the currency difference is huge in my country and Sweden. But something I have learnt during my time here is that the living expenses compared to the salaries is quite low here. I work in few student nations and the small amount of money I get from these jobs is enough to cover all my monthly expenses.
From my experience as a student here so far, I have got everything I expected – by choosing Sweden and by choosing Uppsala University. It might not be the same experience for everyone but I believe that most of the students here are enjoying their time to the fullest. I’m so glad that I found my own answers to all the “whys” and decided to chase my dream. The student life is challenging in any part of the world and the work load is always there, but as long as you have a better environment to face all the challenges with a smile on your face, you will definitely have the time of your life.
I am Manish and this is my first blog as
#taggedforuppsala blogger. I have been a blogger for a year now, I usually post
on Instagram, but I stayed away from the blog page (I don’t know why!). And if
you are following us on Instagram you might find me posting more about activities
in and around Uppsala. The most common question that students ask me apart from
their academic questions is that when can they see the Northern Lights. Chasing
Aurora Borealis is on a lot of students bucket list and even though it’s
visible from September to April, it remains elusive. One misconception about
chasing the Auroras in Sweden is that you can see it all over the country.
Unfortunately, this is not true! Except if there is an extraordinary amount of
solar activity and a really clear sky.
October 07, 2018 Aurora Borealis were visible over Uppsala and Stockholm as Kp-value reached above 5.33, in the photo you can see the beautiful display of auroras over Gamla Uppsala church. (Photo credits: Manish)
I would say if the space weather conditions are
favorable you can see Northern lights from Uppsala. However, Uppsala is too far
south to reliably see the Auroras. You might want to head towards the North, to
the Arctic Circle to have the best experience of seeing the northern lights
either Kiruna or Abisko National Park (best chance of seeing the Auroras).
Abisko has relatively clear skies during the polar night compared to elsewhere
in Sweden, as Abisko has a special microclimate.
Northern Lights in Abisko National Park, camera settings: ISO 6400, f/1.6, shutter speed: 2sec (Photo credits: Manish/Maria)
So how do you hunt these lights ?? it’s a 50%
scientific prediction and 50% pure luck, but when things go your way the sense
of achievement is huge. Seeing northern lights requires a complicated
combination of events to occur but I won’t get into the science of how an
aurora happens (you can google it!). But I’m sure you would like to know how to
increase your chances of catching a glimpse of the infamous Aurora borealis.
Aurora chasers avidly track the Kp-Index and
religiously monitor the meteorological data (you don’t want clouds to ruin your
chances) using various apps and websites.
Kp-Index relates to the intensity of interaction between the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field in a horizontal plane. It is ranked on a scale of zero to nine, the higher the value the more the aurora can be seen at southerly latitudes. You can use apps like the “Aurora Forecast” or “My Aurora Forecast & Alerts” app. It is available in both App Store in iOS and Play Store in Android.
Space Weather monitoring: I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to monitor the space weather. Getting to the geekier part of the aurora hunt, is to check for solar storms. Here you can check for any solar activity and coronal ejection from the sun, if there is any you can easily predict how the aurora will be over the next 3 days.
Aurora Ovation Oval: Aurora manifests itself in a huge ring above the Earth’s Geomagnetic North Pole which is referred to as the Auroral Oval. You might expect this oval to be visible from the same altitude around the globe but because it is centered on true north rather than the geographical North Pole, this is not the case. In this page you can check the aurora formation, helps you to find the region where the Aurora may be visible.
There are some groups on Facebook if you’re in Uppsala where people post if there is high probability to see the lights and it is also a great way to meet the people who share the same enthusiasm. Here is the link to the page.
Taking pictures!!!
I’ll give you some very basic settings you can use to
photograph Auroras, they’ll probably work in most situations. However, it also
sometimes will depend on the auroras you see. So, you might need to adjust the
settings depending on how bright auroras are and how fast they are moving.
Have a sturdy
tripod (very important: I have seen people trying to take pictures with
handheld camera, it won’t turn out good).
a DSLR that has
manual mode.
Lens that focuses
to infinity.
Evaluative or
matrix metering mode.
Wide angle lens
(16-35mm) with aperture at 2.8 or 4 – the lowest number as your lens can go.
Exposure at 15
seconds for slower auroras and 10 seconds for faster ones. Adjust as needed.
Set ISO at 1,600
to start with and experiment.
If you are a
beginner, you’re probably not shooting in RAW, so you want to get the colors as
close to reality as possible straight from the camera, you can use Automatic
white balance mode.
Once you get to see them, there is a compulsion to see
more and more, they are addictive. It’s exciting, you get high from it. Part of
the charm is the thrill of the chase because there is never a guarantee that
you will see the northern lights, in these two years I have had the chance to
see it only six times.
Aurora Borealis right above us at Abisko National Park, camera settings: ISO 6400, f/1.6, shutter speed: 2sec (Photo credits: Manish)
TIP: If you travel all the way to the North to see
Northern Lights, be prepared to look for them. Go outside every night. Even if
aurora activity is not very high, but the sky is clear, you might get lucky and
see some beautiful auroras.
One
of the things that I have never imagined when I came to Uppsala was to be
involved again in a debate club. I do love debate. In fact, I was doing it for
four years in Córdoba, my hometown, with CDU (for Germans, is not related to
Angela Merkel´s party) , and there I learnt how to speak and persuade in
public, had a critical point of view and, the most important point, I made
astonishing friends and I spent my craziest years in CDU, living experiences
hardly ever to repeat. So, when I saw a post in “Uppsala International Students | Exchange&Erasmus Uppsala
Univeristy” I didn´t doubt to join.
Maybe
if you read “Debate club” the first picture that comes to your mind is a posh
guy or girl, maybe with a suit sewn by hand and really polite. Well, there are
people with this stereotype, but you usually find normal students like you and
me who want to improve their language skills. Why? I think the magic thing of
the debate is that EVERYBODY can be the best speaker or debater in the world
and the “job” carried out prove that. So, in UF Uppsala Debate Club (its
official name) you will find cheerful students really looking forward to
learning that skills, most of them from scratch so you aren´t an exception.
For the last two semesters, the club was lead by Hugh Bartley, a brilliant and charming debater from Australia that taught and encouraged people to improve their debate skills throughout the semesters. Most of the members were novices, so they started from scratch and they learnt a lot. A proof was the impressive progression shown by them and the novices learnt how to create an argument, defend it and refute other ideas in English.
These
formations were focused on these three main points but also there was time for
debaters to teach about some topics such as economy, science, or more informal
talks like pop culture or sports. This is an overwhelming experience in which
you are able to enhance your abilities.
The
highlight of the season was the Debate of Champion, in which all of the members
showed their gift of the gab and the knowledge
Why
I think that the UF Uppsala Debate Club is one the things that you must try
during your period in Uppsala? First of all, because you will meet people with
a critical perspective and attitude to change the things and break with the
establishment is not as usual as somebody can think. From my point of view,
this helps to see the things from other perfective and have a wider view of
some ideas.
The
second point is related to the last because after each meeting the debate
usually continues in a nation but with a beer and a burger (sometimes we went
to Pizzeria Palermo) in your hands and enjoying the time with your debate
friends, which is without any doubt it´s the best way to meet new people.
Finally, and from an academic point of view, it helps to persuade your friends
to do the plan that you think is best and explain much better your ideas to an audience
or your classmates.
So I
just can encourage you to join to the debate club and open the door to an
amazing world in which you will enjoy and learn at the same time.
First, I have to warn you about this; this is a super
personal review about the SD Masters Programme and if you are reading this
before you come here I just want you to know that this is only one person’s
point of view and we are almost 60-70 people in the course.
As an engineer from Turkey, my intentions before I got here
were to learn more about the policy side of sustainability and get involved in
‘social sciences’ part of the academics.
I am highlighting the fact that I am from Turkey, a Mediterranean
country with population of 80 million, because one has to understand my
background to have a better understanding of my thoughts about this programme. As
for my educational background, it was full of memorizing, accepting the
learning outcomes and facts without discussing it that much (because usually no
one is considered ‘that important’ to share their thoughts, like who are youand why should someone listen to your thoughts type of a mentality) and
of course, lots of numbers and equations, experiments and linear thinking. So I
was not used to brainstorming ideas, getting involved multinational group projects
and of course, nothing about critical thinking. Well.. Now I have to do all of
these things, everyday. This is
super challenging. I love it. I just feel stupid sometimes but that’s okay. I
guess?
First weeks in MSD, I was struggling to adjust myself to ‘the
new life’. I was trying to attend all interesting events I could find to make
friends so let’s be real, I didn’t pay any attention to the classes in the
first month. The best part is, we really didn’t have that much of thing to do
in the first month. Everything was easy breezy. We had bunch of MSD social
events and fikas, organized by CEMUS which I have never seen any other
departments doing that type of things. We had a whole week scheduled, so that
we can meet each other and have fun before the classes really really start. It was really nice to get to know each other.
Then, we started to have assignments, projects and lots of
readings. I was being super bored at the classes, because usually my classmates
were asking questions or talk about their opinions in general while I was
rolling my eyes and thinking “ugh ok, who cares let the teacher talk WHY ARE
YOU WAISTING MY TIME”. Now I can see that I was just a rude person who has been
educated with a strict and not-suitable-for-this-century type of style. Because
I am learning lots of stuff from these discussions with my classmates with very
diverse backgrounds.
So, as a summary, what to expect from Master’s in
Sustainable Development:
-If you are an engineer, if you are a person who is used to
memorize things and think according to what has been taught to you before; you
will have hard time studying this course. If you have strong ambitions to earn
too much money, if you don’t like the idea of having the responsibility on your
shoulders to learn everything by yourself instead of a very hard and busy
course that you have to learn, than it might not be the right choice for
you. You will feel this a waste of time, you probably will find this course
very philosophical and useless and easy. Especially if you are a fee paying
student, if you don’t do the readings, you might feel that you are spending
your money for no reason.
But, -If you are open for new possibilities, if you are in to discussions, exchanging ideas, thinking in different ways, trying to look at problems in a broader perspective instead of trying to solve it directly and if you can let go yourself with the flow, enjoy Uppsala, nations, enjoy your classmates and their experiences with their lives and explore their unique ideas, this is the right choice for you. If you can take what you can get the most out of this programme, you will most probably graduate as a systems thinker with full of exciting experience.
As for me, I have chosen to study MSD only for 1 year. I
think it will be sufficient for me and I don’t think I can learn more than
this. I choose to look for opportunities
to work in Sweden and concentrate on my work in energy sector with the
help of my energy engineering combined with knowledge about sustainable
development goals of UN, systems thinking and other various things I have
learned from this programme.
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask for me!
Hello! I guess most of us start writing about life in Uppsala on our first blog, which might seem a bit boring, but as an incoming student I wish I could have read more of these from different people, everyone experiences studying abroad in his/her own way, so here goes mine!
I had one of the most amazing summers just before coming to Uppsala, and what made it so good were my friends. I went on a little trip with some of them, and on July I worked at a music festival, as I usually did every summer, and in which the team feels like family. I think I was not really conscious of what coming here would suppose until that festival was over, and I had to say bye to everyone. In that moment I realized the thing I was going to miss the most was them (apart from my dogs, obviously hahaha). When I got into the plane many different emotions came to me: I was really excited about coming to Uppsala, start my studies here, and meet new people, but at the same time part of me wanted to stay in Madrid.
I arrived here out of the welcome week, meaning one of the university buddies was waiting for me at Uppsala Centralstationen to introduce me to the place I was going to live: a room in a Flogsta corridor, that actually has really good views. I knew the room was going to be empty, but I wasn’t expecting the weird feeling it gave me on the first night. I felt that I needed to go out and roam around just to not feel like that during the next day. This changed two days after coming, during the IBG welcome days. In these days, we (biology master students) were given lectures about university lifestyle, and about living in Uppsala in general, and different activities were planned, including a barbeque on the last day! This was my first actual contact with other students, and I met a lot of people from different backgrounds and cultures that I can call friends now.
Views from my corridor kitchen on a foggy day
Coming from a big city as is Madrid (Spain), that is always crowded, Uppsala seemed too quiet at the beginning, and it still feels like that sometimes… but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do here! During these months I have been travelling around and trying to do as many plans as my free time let me; I went hiking and berry picking to Flottsund, chased auroras staying up late more than once, and visited Stockholm and Gävle.
Flottsund
Some of the blueberries we picked there
However, if you plan to visit any place while staying here, I would highly recommend checking the establishments opening hours (specially on small cities, I wouldn’t worry too much about Stockholm). I visited Gävle with a friend on a Saturday and the first thing we did when we arrived there was going to the tourism office to get a map, but apparently, the office closes on weekends… Am I the only one for which this doesn’t make sense? I mean, it’s a tourism office, do they expect more visits during weekdays? Anyway, it’s a beautiful place to go, and really small, so you can probably see full of it in half a day 🙂
Gävle – Old town
Gävle – Old town
Of course there are people who look more for party plans, and maybe Uppsala is not the best place to do it, as many places in town close early (compared to Madrid, in where there are pubs and discos open up to 6-8 a.m.), and it’s not the cheapest thing to do, but if you really want to, you can always find a party in Flogsta and Student Nations; I would say there’s one almost every day at some corridor… You won’t find me in one of these though, I guess I had to experience it at least once, so I went to one of them, but now I know they are not for me.
Now that I have been here for a few months, I have done my first exam, and it’s starting to get cold, I can say I miss many things about living in Madrid, but I wouldn’t change what I’m experiencing here to go back. Actually, I cannot wait for it to start snowing and to go north on December… I’ll probably write about that too, so keep an eye on the blog post updates!
I hope this gives you an idea of what you coming here might feel like!
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